Keep your eye on the ball - and on Logic

IOWA CITY - Keep your hands up. Keep your eyes open.

When Samantha Logic has the ball, anything could happen.

“You've got to be ready for the ball, and if you take your eyes off it for a second, it can be there planted on the side of your cheek,” said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder. “You need to be ready for it, and I think that's left an impression on our players.”

The arrival of Logic, a high school All-American from Racine, Wis., was a major topic at media day for the University of Iowa women's basketball team Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“She definitely sees things on the court before they happen,” said junior post Morgan Johnson, who said she's taken “a couple” of Logic's passes off the noggin. “You have to be ready for everything with her.”

Logic spearheads a five-player freshman class that was ranked 11th nationally by ESPN's hoopgurlz.com. That will enhance the Hawkeyes' depth, an item that has been lacking in recent years.

“We have 12 healthy players right now, and I don't remember the last time that we've been able to say that,” said Bluder, who is beginning her 12th season at Iowa.

The Hawkeyes can effectively scrimmage five-on-five in practice, a rarity the past couple seasons.

And depth will allow the Hawkeyes some new dimensions on game days.

“We'll be able to push the ball more,” said Kamille Wahlin, a senior point guard. “We might even throw in a press here and there.”

Iowa has posted 20-win seasons and reached the NCAA tournament four straight years. Last year, the Hawkeyes went 22-9 and tied for third in the Big Ten. But they lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament (to Ohio State) and NCAA tournament (to Gonzaga).

Four starters return - seniors Wahlin and Kelly Krei and juniors Johnson and Jaime Printy.

Bluder said Logic probably will fill the starting spot vacated by Kachine Alexander, who graduated last year.

But who will assume Alexander's leadership qualities?

“We don't have that person on the floor that really just gets everybody excited,” Bluder said. “Morgan Johnson is probably our best. She really has the most enthusiasm.”

Said Johnson, who stands 6-foot-5: “My voice does project a lot.”

One of Johnson's projects will be to mentor Bethany Doolittle, a 6-4 freshman from Oakdale, Minn.

“She reminds me a lot of myself as a freshman,” Johnson said. “She needs to get in the weight room, like I did.”

Virginia Johnson (Iowa City High), Melissa Dixon (Johnsburg, Ill.) and Kathryn Reynolds (Cincinnati) round out the freshman class.

It's a big step from high school ball to the Big Ten.

“The game is a lot faster, up and down the floor,” Logic said.

Aiding in the transition was a European trip over the summer. Even more assistance was the 10 practices that preceded the trip.

“That helped a lot,” said Printy, one of 25 players named to the Wade Watch List and one of 30 selected to the Wooden Award Watch List. “Our freshmen were able to learn before most of the other freshmen across the nation.”

Iowa hosts Winona State in an exhibition game Nov. 6, then opens the season for real Nov. 12 against Harvard in the first round of the Hawkeye Challenge.